Air Fryer Beef Empanadas

These beef empanadas are a must try air fryer recipe! Easy to make, delicious and ready in only 8 minutes! Made with my homemade beef picadillo filling and store bought empanada dough, these easy beef empanadas are “fried” in the air fryer and are ready in minutes (only takes 8 minutes to cook)!

I’ve baked them in the oven in the past, but this was the first time trying them in the air fryer and they turned out perfect, golden and flaky on the outside and hot in the inside with no oil! If you want to bake them in the oven instead, I suggest you double the time or bake until they are golden.

Because they are so quick to whip up, I made a batch this morning and packed it in Madison’s lunch box (took me about 10 min start to finish). She was super excited and so am I as I now have a new lunch box idea to pack for her school lunch.

How To Make Air Fryer Empanadas

Do you need an air fryer in your life? Here’s my honest opinion:

I bought the Nuwave Air Fryer (affiliate link) last week after getting tons of requests for air fryer recipes. People have been raving about it, but I was hesitant to get one because I really don’t have room for another gadget in my life, and I figured anything you can make in an air fryer, you can make in the oven. SO I did a test, and started with my Buttermilk “Fried” Chicken from my first cookbook, The Skinnytaste Cookbook. I tested half in my oven, and half in the air fryer. Here are the results:

The chicken was delicious, moist on the inside and crispy on the outside and they both tasted exactly the same. You could not tell them apart.

The pros to using the air fryer is it cooked in about half the time which is pretty awesome. It also doesn’t heat up your house. The cons, it’s bulky and takes up a lot of space on your counter or pantry. The basket that holds the food is small, so if you’re cooking for a large family it’s probably not for you. But if you want to whip up food in half the time that turns out crispy and delicious for a smaller family, it’s perfect. Will I be keeping my air fryer? YES! Really excited to whip up old and new recipes in it, if you have one I will be sharing new recipes as I play.

How To Make Baked Empanadas in the Oven

If you don’t have an air fryer you can also bake them in the oven 400F on a nonstick baking sheet until golden, about 18 minutes.

Air Fryer Beef Empanadas

5

Freestyle Points

183

Calories

Prep Time: 10mins

Cook Time: 16mins

Total Time: 30mins

Yield: 8servings

COURSE: Appetizer, Dinner, Lunch

CUISINE: American

These easy beef empanadas made with my homemade beef picadillo filling and store bought empanada dough are "fried" in the air fryer for empanadas that area ready in minutes (only takes 8 minutes to cook)!